Scattered
by Kagehime3
Summary: Months after the events of Dressrosa, the New World sinks into Chaos. The Straw Hats have managed to find themselves separated again, and Nami has to find a way to survive on her own and find her crew. At least she knows there's a lifeline out there to help her. She just needs to find him first. Be advised: Rating has gone up for Chapter 9!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or the characters, they belong to Eiichiro Oda.**

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_Chapter 1_

_Three Days_

The wind rushed past her, muffled by the clear barrier surrounding her as she flew through the air. Clouds and blue sky were all she could see for three days, maybe an odd bird, but nothing more. Her anxiety kept her awake, on edge as she wondered what she'd be facing when she finally hit the ground.

She was alone, again, and this time she knew she couldn't count on a soft landing amongst people she could depend on. She could only wonder what was in store for her and her friends, the tumult and chaos that had descended on the New World finally catching up with them as the Marines and World Government went to new extremes to wrest control of the seas from the pirates running rampant and lawless.

No one was safe anymore. The most innocent of countries, the most peaceful of citizens, had to watch it all torn apart the moment a pirate ship landed on their shores and the Marines swooped in to smash them, and any who stood in their way, all of them no better than bugs under foot. It was war, plain and simple, and collateral damage was to be expected. Still, no one had ever expected the number of civilian casualties to get so high.

Nami's mind was taken from her musings as she felt herself begin to descend, her tired eyes searching for some sign of what she would face. The first time they were separated by Kuma, it was in order to give them a chance to escape, come back stronger than before. This time it hadn't been Kuma who sent them all drifting apart, this time it was the Marines hoping to weaken the crew. They were all surely flying straight into a trap, blind and alone, with no real hope for their survival.

She could see a small grassy island come into view as she strained her neck. It seemed completely deserted, except for the Marine warship that had dropped anchor just offshore. The closer she got, the better she could make out the small dots of Marines waiting on one of the green slopes, their guns ready, aimed at her as they lined up and made a landing strip of sorts.

With a resigned, exhausted sigh, she shut her eyes, waiting for the hard impact that was sure to come as the protective bubble around her vanished. With a thud, her body fell to the ground, the momentum from her flight sending her rolling along the grass, twigs tangling in her long hair, dirt and grass staining her skin and clothes, until she came to rest with a pained groan right in front of a Vice Admiral and his men. The clicks of their guns' hammers cocking into place forced her to turn her head up from where she was strewn on her stomach, meeting the Vice Admiral's cold eyes with her own tired and helpless gaze.

She wasn't running away this time.

Her head fell back to the ground, no fight left in her as blackness took her. At the back of her mind, she was relieved when the only thing she felt after was the cold metal cuffs wrapping around her wrists and not the sharp bite of a bullet piercing her flesh.

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**As promised, new Law x Nami fic in the works here. The first few chapters will be somewhat shorter and very Nami-centric, but patience, Law will show up in grand fashion just as he should. Also, I have this story set after the events on Dressrosa, and since we don't know how that's going to end yet, there will be a great deal of my own ideas and assumptions on what may come, but it'll all be very vague.**

**Also, those curious about my note in my little warm-up drabble: I do still have an idea for a sequel to Madness Descends, but before I get to that, I want to get this nugget out of the way since it's been in my head a lot longer.**

**A note on that one-shot, too: I'm getting some requests to continue it, but I had no real intention to. I may turn that into a Law x Nami one-shot dump, though, so keep an eye on it in case I get other ideas.**

**I'm also back on my personal tumblr account again, so look for updates on it (kagehime3 or kagehime3prompts are the urls for my primary and secondary- as you can see, I changed my penname here to mesh with my tumblr account). Feel free to message me, I'm not actively taking any requests at this time, but if I get something short that strikes my fancy, I may be inclined to do it. I'm still saving a ZoNa prompt that's been sitting in my inbox for months because I really do want to do it, just need the push. So if you send anything just be patient if you don't see anything for a while, generally if I don't respond it's a good sign that I'll want to do it eventually, if not I'd say something.**

**Anyway, please review and look forward to the next chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or the characters, they belong to Eiichiro Oda.**

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_Chapter 2_

_Cannon's Thunder_

Nami awoke to the feeling of a ship rocking in choppy waves, her eyes slowly peeling open to take in the walls and bars of the warship's brig surrounding her. She could hear the wood buckling with each crash of the ocean, the sound blending with the metal clanging of heavy chains hanging on the wall that shifted with the ship's motions. She was alone down there, save for two guards posted at the only exit, the men not paying her any mind as they stayed alert for any who might idiotically think to board and rescue their sole prisoner.

She sat up with a low groan, her body sore from the awkward position she'd been lying in with her wrists and ankles shackled to the wall and floor. The sound got the guards' attention then, but only in the form of a cursory glance before they went back to staring at the door. The fact they didn't seem too concerned about her told her enough; she wasn't seen as too much of a threat, which suited her purposes just fine.

With their attention elsewhere, her eyes roamed over the brig, observing every inch of the space as best she could. She caught sight the ring of keys at the hip of one the guards. A box in the corner where she spied the tell-tale blue sheen of her Climatact just barely peeking out the top, her log pose and bracelet still on her wrist, fortunately. As she was idly inspecting the condition of the lock to her cell, as well as the bolts on the door, she was distracted by distant shouts coming from the deck above them.

Something was happening, but she didn't know what. Her guards were on edge, apparently whatever it was they hadn't expected.

That's when she heard it- the distant sound of cannon fire.

The ship suddenly jolted, rocking harder as a cannonball hit the ocean just shy of its target.

Another blast, this time louder, obviously coming from the warship she was held on.

More shouting. Her guards were readying their guns and preparing to head up to the deck.

Distant thunder from the attacking ship's cannon. A whistle in the air getting louder and louder each passing second, then an ear piercing blast as this time their shot hit true, and only a few feet from her cell.

Wood and metal were flying around her, the ship jarring and rolling onto its side for a moment sent her tumbling around her cell, scrambling as best she could to escape the shrapnel. As soon as she felt herself get steady again, her eyes snapped up to take in the damage of the room. One of her guards was laid out unconscious, bleeding heavily from multiple wounds. The other guard was nowhere to be seen. But judging by the exit hole piercing out the ship opposite where the cannonball entered, she figured it was safe to assume he wasn't doing any better than his comrade.

The door to her cell was partially warped now, the bolts pulling loose from the wood of the floor- it wouldn't take much work for her to escape now. Thinking quickly as she heard the crew shouting above, their footsteps rushing around as they fired more rounds on their attackers, Nami adjusted herself among the debris until she could reach into her hair and pull out one of her bobby pins. With an ease that came from years of experience, she twisted her hands until she could pick at the lock to the shackles around her wrists. In seconds her hands were free to spring open the chains around her ankles, allowing her to scurry for her cell door and tug at the broken bolts until the door was just open enough for her to squeeze through.

As she made a run for the box that held her weapon, now scattered on the floor next to the cell, her eyes trailed over to the remaining guard who hadn't even groaned as she made her escape, taking a closer look at his condition. She paused in her movements as she saw it then, lifeless eyes gazing up to the ceiling. He never had a chance.

Shaking off her sympathy, she pushed herself to grab her staff and replace it in its holster, the shouting and echoing thunder of cannon fire urging her to focus on her own survival. With grace and speed, she climbed around the broken walls and boards of the brig until she reached the hole the cannonball had ripped into the port side of the ship, trying to get some idea of her surroundings. The first thing she saw was the attacking pirate ship, blasts of gun powder surrounding it as it appeared to be steering away from them.

They hadn't been attacking- they were running away from the Marines that had been coming down on every pirate in the New World with an extra heavy hand.

As she caught sight of their mast snapping in half as a Marine cannonball ripped through it, Nami let her gaze roam over the mostly empty ocean until she saw it. Land.

It wasn't too far, at least for her, maybe a kilometer or two. While the oceans of the Grand Line were exceptionally dangerous, at that point she knew she'd have a far better chance with the long swim than she did stuck in a cell on the way to Impel Down.

Just as she was preparing to jump, though, her attention snapped back to the door to the brig and the loud clang that came as it was slammed open. Her eyes went wide as she spotted one of the Vice Admiral's men standing there taking in the damage before he spotted her standing at her unexpected exit to freedom.

"Stop!" He shouted, his gun poised to shoot her down in an instant if she gave him reason to.

She did.

Without a second thought, Nami leaped out the large hole in the side of the ship, and a scant moment later the sound of his gun blasting was heard. She almost thought that her timing was perfect, at least until she felt the cold, searing pain flash up her leg as a bullet lodged into her thigh. She cried out, her descent to the chilly waters below becoming clumsy as the force of the bullet changed her trajectory.

With a hard splash, her back hit the water, knocking the air from her lungs as she plunged deeper into the dark blue depths. Dazed, she just barely saw another bullet go whizzing passed her in the water, and then another, and another, until she finally found the energy and drive to push herself up to the surface, breaking it with a loud gasp.

The shouting was clear again, her eyes going to the warship and her escape route where she saw more soldiers preparing to fire on her. If they couldn't bring her in as a prisoner, then they were perfectly fine seeing her floating dead in the water. Her leg stabbing with pain, Nami forced herself to start swimming away; it would be a lot slower and more tedious than she expected it to be, but she had to try and get away from the Marines before another one of their bullets managed to strike her.

The farther she got, the more relieved she became. When it became obvious there was no chance of them taking her out, the Marines once again turned their focus on the pirate ship slowly limping away to the south. She could then put all her effort into fighting through the churning waves and rough currents, make her way to the island that she hoped could give her a temporary refuge, a respite to regain her bearings and decide what to do next.

She survived without her crew once before, she could do it again. She'll find them. She had to. She couldn't face the world alone anymore.

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**Alright, another chapter, adding some tension for our beloved Nami. Next few chapters will be getting much longer, but still Nami-centric. Patience Law fans, that man's gotta make an grand entrance this time.**

**Once again, reviews are always appreciated.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or the characters, they belong to Eiichiro Oda.**

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_Chapter 3_

_Hostile Environment_

Upon reaching the island, Nami quickly realized why the Marines hadn't been too eager to chase after her when she jumped overboard.

Climbing from the water onto the beach near the main town's harbor, she moved as swiftly she could with a bullet lodged in her thigh, finding her way into an alleyway where she could silently examine the town and what kind of threats she might face there. Wanted posters lined the walls of many of the shops, quite a few torn up from being used as target practice. So at the very least it was a hostile environment for a wanted pirate. _Fantastic._

Turning back into the alley's shadows, Nami slowly shuffled away from the main road, passing by busy shops and homes until she came to an area that didn't seem to have as much traffic. Glancing around, she spotted just what she needed then- a doctor's office.

Keeping her head down, she darted across the street, snatching up a cloak left resting next to a street vendor's cart to cover up her vibrant orange hair, the bright locks making her stand out to anyone who might be looking for her, which surely they were. With quiet grace, she moved past the office building, through another tight alley, until she found herself at the back door. No one was in sight outside when she slipped into the back room filled with extra supplies and no one to guard them.

Maybe her luck hadn't left her yet.

She peeked out into a hallway leading to the front waiting area, a nurse sitting at a desk jotting in a chart with her back turned on the hallway. A cursory glance around had Nami spotting the doctor's own office just across from the storage room, it was empty to her satisfaction, meaning they must be with a patient in one of the other rooms or hopefully making a house call. Didn't matter; as long as they stayed away just long enough for her to take care of her wounded leg.

Pulling back into the storage room, Nami gently eased the door shut, wincing to herself as the click of the latch seemed to resonant around her. Breath held tight in her chest, she waited; listening for any footsteps heading toward her to investigate the sound she swore must have been loud enough for everyone on the block to hear. After a minute of waiting, she slowly released her breath- no one was coming. Not wanting to waste another moment, she moved back to a small desk pushed against a wall, tossing down the stolen cloak before she dug through a cabinet filled with gauze and antiseptic.

She frowned to herself, seeing only basic first aid supplies stocked back there, no instruments or sutures to help her with the bullet that was bound to get infected the longer she left it in there. She let her attention drift from the cabinets to the door, back and forth as she tried to decide what would be best. She was sure there would be more useful tools kept in the office, knowing checking the patient rooms was out of the question in case the doctor was in there, but she didn't know if she could risk venturing further from her only exit.

One last glance at the gauze filled shelves, and she forced herself to limp quietly back to the door. Slowly, gently, with the ease only a skilled cat thief could conjure, she opened the door to the hallway and peered out again. The nurse was still at her desk, the only change in her position was the apple lazily clutched in her hand, a single bite taken as she leaned back in her chair, eyes fixed on that chart still. Two other doors in the hallway between her and the nurse were closed; it was fine, she was sure she didn't need to go in either of those rooms, just the one directly across from her. Brown eyes set on the open door straight ahead, the desk in the office still unoccupied. With a deep breath, she took a step out.

A floorboard creaked under step, freezing her in place while her attention snapped back to the nurse stationed at the front. The woman sighed, leaning her body forward in her chair again while setting the chart back down. Her head turned to the side, Nami held her breath as she watched her set down her apple only to reach in her drawer and pull out a sheet of paper before going back to work.

Nami practically leapt into the doctor's office after that, breathing deeply as she realized she was panicking far too much for her own good. She was Cat Thief Nami of the Straw Hat Pirates, illegal entrance and petty theft was child's play for her, even if the town seemed to be steeped in resentment toward the pirates that sailed the Grand Line. As her heart beat slowed again, her anxiety easing with the constant reminders that this is what she has done for a living since she was child, Nami finally forced herself to focus on the task at hand.

Her eyes roamed every inch of the room for a few seconds until they landed on a doctor's bag sitting open next to the desk. A quick look inside and she had the sutures and instruments she needed to take care of her wound, all sterile and ready for use. Just as she was shutting the bag and getting ready to head back to the room with her exit, she froze in place as she heard the back door she'd come in from open and shut, followed by the sound of confident footsteps falling on the wooden floors. The new person paused in their steps for a moment and Nami took the time to hunker down into a corner, once again holding her breath as she waited to see if someone would find her.

Her hand on her Climatact, ready to create a distraction or hide her form if she needed to, she waited and listened as the person began to walk again, out into the hallway and toward the front, away from her. With all the calmness she could muster right then, Nami pushed herself up just enough to grab hold of the doctor's bag again, crouching down close to the ground as she slowly made her way to the door to see if the coast was clear. As soon as she got there, she could easily hear two women speaking, one obviously the nurse, the other Nami was guessing was the doctor judging by the tone she used when talking to the other woman.

"Mary, did you let someone into the storage room while I was gone again?" The slightly older woman asked her nurse. Nami's breath caught in her throat as her eyes snapped to the room she came in through and the cloak she'd left sitting in there. Stupid mistake. She had to get out of there.

"No. Why?"

"There's a cloak sitting back there that I swore wasn't there when I went out earlier."

The nurse only shrugged at her employer's concern, her attention going to her apple as she spoke before taking a bite. "Well, it's just been me this whole time. Maybe a patient left it and you just didn't notice."

"Hmm, maybe," the doctor mused, glancing back for a moment before turning her attention to the nurse once again. As Nami took a chance to peek out more, slowly venture into the hall and toward the storage room, she noticed a stack of books in the doctor's arms, as well as a few wanted posters resting on top of them. "I guess it isn't too important right now, but I just ran into a few Marines who were patrolling the streets; they said we should be on the lookout for this pirate." As the doctor spoke, she pulled a poster off the stack and handed it to the nurse, the bright orange hair Nami could clearly see in the picture had her eyes widening as she realized they were definitely looking for her. "She escaped from the ship that had been headed to the base here when it came under fire. Apparently she was shot when jumping overboard, so in case she actually managed to make it ashore, they want all medical personnel on the lookout, especially."

"You really think this girl would be stupid enough to come into a doctor's office for treatment?" The nurse laughed, slamming the poster onto the table as she leaned back in her chair, unworried and completely at ease. Nami used their distracted conversation to her benefit as she quickly ran into the storage room and started loading more bandages and medicines into the bag she'd taken from the office, idly listening in as she did. "If she steps one foot into this town, she'd clearly see this place is all about the Marines' effort in fighting piracy. She'd know she wouldn't stand a chance if she were caught out in the open. And while yeah, a doctor would be compelled to treat her, they'd hand her right back to the Marines in a second. Considering we're talking about Cat Thief Nami, she probably already knows that and is looking to steal whatever she ne-"

Nami's eyes went wide as she heard the woman cut herself off, the loud bang of her chair falling back alerting the pirate to the fact her time was up. Grabbing her stolen cloak and the bag full of supplies, she began to head for the back door just as loud footsteps could be heard coming toward her fast.

Just as the doctor and nurse came barging into the storage room, the back door shut behind her, and Nami used her Climatact to blend seamlessly into the shadows and walls of the alleyway. Right when she was rounding a corner, she looked back in time to see the women come running out the door after her, halting in the empty corridor as they searched desperately for some sign of the pirate they belatedly realized had robbed them.

It was too late, though; she was gone, slinking through the streets until she came to the relative safety offered by an old, abandoned house. It was run down, vines covering rotten wood and the broken brick trim along the exterior, but it was somewhere she was sure to find peace just long enough to get herself cleaned up and ready to find a way off of the Marine owned island.

She hid herself in the living room where she had a clear view of the front and back doors, the windows were covered but she could see the shadows of any who came patrolling too close. Sitting on the dust covered floor, Nami laid out the shawl she had grabbed, using it to keep herself off the dirt and grime while she played doctor on herself. She popped open the doctor's bag and fished out a small syringe and carpules of anesthetic; she wasn't Zoro, she wasn't about to operate on herself without something to take the edge off, even if it wouldn't last long with her metabolism. As the medication went to work on numbing the area, she got out the gauze and other necessities, positioning them where she could grab them quickly.

She pulled out the set of long hemostats and placed them at the wound in her thigh. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Deep breath in. She pushed the instrument into her flesh, wincing at the pressure and sharp pain as she fished for the fragment of bullet still lodged in her. She had to force herself to pull it out slowly, not wanting to drop it or tear further into her wound. The moment it was out she released her final breath with a long rush, taking a second to breathe before rushing for the gauze to staunch the once more bleeding hole.

A quick rinse with a Climatact provided shower and some antiseptic, and she was busy with the tedious, teeth gritting task of suturing herself up. With each thread she let her mind drift to thoughts about her crew, the many scars and stitches they'd earned together over the years. Physical and emotional, they all had their share.

She felt so very alone then.

Wiping away a stray tear, Nami forced herself to sober up, push away the sadness and worry about her friends scattered around the Grand Line once again. They'd all find each other again. They did before. They can do it again. She believed in each and every single one of them, knew they would all survive their own trials, all she had to do was focus on surviving her own.

She wouldn't be alone for long.

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**So, more Nami on her own. You all getting impatient for Law yet? As I said, he's gonna show in grand fashion.**

**Anyway, reviews always appreciated, and next update will probably be next weekend.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or the characters, they belong to Eiichiro Oda.**

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_Chapter 4_

_A Path to Follow_

Calling this particular island a hostile environment for a pirate was a bit of an understatement from what Nami was picking up over the course of a day there. She hadn't ventured far from her temporary hideout, just enough to see if she could find anyone who might be friendly, sympathetic, willing to help her out despite what she was. Most islands had a few; a bar owner who only cared about profits and not who supplied it, a doctor used to treating everyone, former pirates who had been lucky enough not to get a bounty on their head and could retire into relative obscurity. This island, though, was practically a lynch mob when it came to pirates, the military doctrine taken completely to heart.

The wanted posters she'd seen earlier weren't just to keep people on the lookout for any that ventured ashore; no, they were displays of conquest, souvenirs for those who had a hand in turning criminals in to the Marines stationed there. The posters that were more torn up were meant to symbolize the harder fights, the ones who were taken away in a body bag rather than shackles.

Nami had to get off that island. Now.

Hiding away in her run down house, she knew she didn't have much time before they came searching for her there. It was inevitable after seeing how dedicated the island's residents were to helping the Marines. She needed a plan, though. She needed a boat and a destination, but both were very much lacking right then.

She sat crossed-legged on the floor, staring out the window while calculating in her mind the best case scenario of various plans of escape. All had their risks, some more than others, but staying there was not an option, even if the threat of capture wasn't looming over her head. Her eyes trailed down from the window to the bandage around her thigh, staring at it with a thoughtful frown. She also needed to find a sympathetic doctor to take a look at her self-performed surgery. She was not going to run around sporting yet another scar, the one on her arm was bad enough, but at least it was camouflaged by a tattoo that symbolized her regained freedom. That was a scar that held meaning for her.

Her eyes went wide as somehow the thoughts of a doctor, coupled with her tattoo reminded her of one life line she had out somewhere on the seas. Reaching into her bikini top, she found a little slip of paper that she never let go of, even after Dressrosa. It was her insurance for just such an emergency, even if she never imagined she'd need it.

The vivre card leading to the Heart Pirates.

It sat in her palm, slowly drifting in a steady direction. She had a destination. She had an ally who she hoped wouldn't turn her away.

It was entirely his fault things were this bad, anyway, and she'd make sure he knew it.

Picking herself up from the floor, she quietly eased over to the window to peek out at the town's streets. She was going to have to move fast if she wanted to get to the harbor and steal a boat. Even with her Climatact capable of hiding her, she didn't know what new technology the Marines might have to render her staff useless. After seeing what they were able to do when she was last with her crew, there was no telling what else they might have now.

A deep breath in to steady herself, and Nami was out the door, sneaking through shadows and heading toward the harbor just as the sun began to set. The growing darkness was bound to be in her favor, the orange and pink hues of the sun's blinding rays on the horizon another thing to use in her favor. She could do this. At least that was what she would keep telling herself.

There were a few boats in the harbor when she made it to the port, hiding against the wall of a shop that had closed for the night. A few guards were stationed there, the town probably increasing their security with her running around. Voices coming from down the road had her ducking behind a crate, waiting and watching as two more men came to relieve the guards there. The guards stood around chatting for a while, passing on some rumors of people possibly sighting her, as well as the news that she had robbed a doctor's office. While they were complaining about how selfish she must have been to just take their supplies for her own uses, without thought about the good, law abiding citizens who had far more need of them, Nami slinked out from the shadows, spinning her Climatact to activate her Mirage Tempo.

They didn't see her as she walked past, barely even glanced when the partially floating dock creaked under her weight as she stepped onto it. They had their backs turned to the boat as she untied it and pushed off toward the open ocean. She didn't unfurl the sails, not wanting to alert them to the ship's departure just yet, so instead she just let the currents take her away from the shore until she felt she was at a safe enough distance to drop her Mirage and use her Climatact to produce something akin to a motor, her Gust Sword plenty to give her a quick burst of speed once she unleashed it under water.

It was messy and nearly uncontrollable on her own without someone to steer, but it did the trick. The guards never noticed, never even shouted for someone to go after her. She reasoned she might even get a good hour's head start if she were lucky.

She could use all the luck she could get.

As she spent days slowly coursing through the Grand Line's open ocean, following the trail the vivre card was giving her, she had a lot of time to sit and think, and most of all worry. She was fortunate in some ways, she was an experienced navigator, the one who guided the crew, she could find her way from one island to the next with ease. The others- not so much, save for Robin and Franky. She didn't even want to think about Zoro's poor sense of direction. But she was just as hopelessly lost without them as they were without here, just in a very different way.

She wasn't as strong as Luffy, or Zoro, or Sanji. Even with the strength she had gained over the years, she still relied on them to a point to keep her safe. In seas with dangerous Sea Kings swimming around, their brutal strength and bravery, while endlessly annoying to her, would be an asset to her on that tiny fishing boat she claimed for herself. She relied on the others to keep her calm, give her hope for a better tomorrow, and sometimes keep her sane in their own created insanity. She needed them, and they needed her. She had to find them soon. Even if she only found one, it'd give her some hope that she could find the rest. That was all she had to go on at this point.

Nami was her own watch those days on the endless ocean. She'd nap for an hour at a time, only when she felt the weather and seas would be the calmest. Otherwise she was up and navigating. It wasn't something she'd had to do in years, not since she was a pirate hating cat thief on the East Blue. It came back to her naturally, though it was far more stressful than it ever was then. The East Blue was calm, predictable, and she rarely ventured too far from Cocoyashi. Even the first half of the Grand Line was easy sailing compared to the New World's waters.

The faster she could find her mostly trustworthy former allies, the sooner she might have a chance to truly rest.

Sometime in the late afternoon on the third day, Nami found herself dozing off while eating an orange she stole from the previous island. It was nothing like Bellemere's delicious mikan's she had on the Sunny, but it was food and she needed the Vitamin C to keep herself healthy. Her body was beginning to feel the effects of exhaustion, though, and even as she worked on peeling out a wedge of fruit, her eyes began to drift shut, hands going limp, until she jerked herself awake. She'd be mostly alert for a few seconds; then it'd start all over again. Her vision would swim and swirl for a few moments then, forcing her to shut her eyes. Each time she went through the cycle, it took longer and longer for her to force herself awake again, until finally she sank into a light sleep against the hull of the ship.

She woke up to heavier waves crashing her boat, the distant hollers of men coming closer to her as her vessel rocked more and more in the water. She wasn't sure how long she'd been out. An hour? A day? However long, it was just enough for her to get close to another island, the sight of which had her bolting up to check her vivre card and surroundings.

A ship was coming her way, thus the choppy waters around her, but she didn't pay it any mind as she stared blankly at the card that seemed to be pointing away from the island. She sighed in defeat, but quickly shook off her disappointment in order to grab her cloak and cover up her more distinguishing features in case the passing ship noticed. She'd have to head toward the island, rest up there, get some more supplies and prepare for another chase.

As she steered her boat toward the island, her eyes warily held the rampantly excited crew aboard the ship going further out to sea past her. They looked like mercenaries; bandannas tied around their foreheads and arms, war paint covering their cheeks and bodies, guns and swords held high in the air as they shouted war cries. They all looked terrifyingly strong, maybe not as strong as the majority of her crew, but strong enough to be quite troublesome if they took notice of her.

They were bounty hunters- every one of them.

Her hand subtly went down to her Climatact, fingers brushing over the cold metal in preparation for any unexpected attack. They didn't pay her any mind; too busy hollering about some filthy pirates who had apparently been on the island she was heading toward. Pirates that had just narrowly managed to get away.

In a yellow submarine.

She cursed under her breath, realizing how very close she was to Law's crew but she couldn't do anything, not with them being hunted down by men she had little chance against. Maybe if she created a strong storm that sent their ship off the Heart Pirates' trail, allowing herself to follow after them and even hold them indebted to her so they especially couldn't argue against taking her onto their ship.

"Hey! Girl!" A deep voice shouting at her drew her out of her planning, her hand clamping down around her weapon as her head snapped up to look at the deck of the passing ship and a man standing at the railing waving for her attention. They had seen her; she couldn't do anything now, not without them realizing who she was. "If you're heading to that island back there, be careful! It's no place for a little thing like you! We're hunting down a really nasty group of pirates, but we think they left someone behind, so keep an eye out for yourself!"

She nodded and waved in understanding, stomping down the urge to cheer out loud at the prospect of one of their crewmates still on the island. Law wasn't the type to just leave any of his crew behind without very good reason, and there was always the chance they'd be going back for whoever was there. She just had to find them and make an alliance, and then it was only a matter of waiting for the crew to come back to them.

There was still hope. Her luck hadn't left her yet.

Eyes set on the next island, she knew she would find them. She'd find her allies, and then find her family. They would always come together in the end, no matter who stood in their way.

* * *

**You all about to kill me yet? ;3**

**I swear, your wait for Law is ALMOST over.**

**I know this chapter was a few days later than I planned, just got stuck on chapter 5 and I'm still trying to stay about a chapter ahead to keep you guys from having too much of a wait in between. I'm currently about 2/3 of the way through with the next chapter, though, so almost there. Expect it around the weekend, or early next week. If anything comes up to prevent that, I'll post an update about it on my tumblr.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or the characters, they belong to Eiichiro Oda.**

* * *

_Chapter 5_

_Clash in the Rain_

She kept low in her small boat, carefully steering it toward a cove less than a mile from the port. She had caught sight of people standing at the dock, binoculars in hand to keep watch for either more pirates, or for the Heart crew to return. Further into the port town, she could hear the occasional shout, commands for the country's military to run their sweeps looking for whoever had been left behind.

It was yet another island on alert.

Ever since he dragged them into his scheme, his desire for chaos and vengeance, this had become common place. The World Government and Fleet Admiral Sakazuki truly had come down on piracy with a heavy hand, and nearly every island followed suit.

Bounty hunting had become a far more lucrative profession.

Nami watched as a group of armed soldiers walked the sandy beach next to the cove. She had used her mirage tempo to keep her boat hidden, but her anxiety pushed her to keep down anyway. They were walking back to town luckily, so once she made it into the rocky cove, and the trees surrounding it, she knew she would be fine. She_ hoped_ she'd be fine.

As she navigated her boat among the rocks, she noticed a small cave where the tides had worn into the side of the island. Perfect place to hide her ship while looking for her would be ally. With the boat secured, Nami gracefully climbed over the slick, wet rock around the cove; she had to take a risk and put her Climatact away, exposing herself so she could use her hands to grasp onto loose holds while climbing into the small forest above the cove.

Focused on her task, she never noticed the eyes carefully watching her from the trees.

She skirted the edge of the town, sticking to the thick forest surrounding the small clearing it was built it. The hood of the cloak she had stolen from the last town was covering her bright orange locks still as she pulled it low over her forehead, hoping not to stand out too much. She surveyed the area closely, looking for places the island's militia may not be as focused on, any signs of where a pirate might prefer to hide in an area on alert.

A light rain began to fall as she braved her way into the town, thick clouds rolling down from the high peak near the center of the island. The rain chilled her, made her wounded leg throb, but she ignored it, pressing forward onto a street lined with small shops. It was crowded despite the weather, but the people there were merely going about their business before the rain became any worse. She blended in inconspicuously among everyone, none giving her a second look as the pain in her leg worsened and brought out a more pronounced limp.

Even as no one so much as glanced at her, she couldn't shake the sudden feeling of being watched.

It was strange, sent a shiver down her spine, but she shook it off as paranoia over being in yet another country where pirates were more than unwelcome. She was just over thinking it, that's all. She just needed to focus on finding one person on that entire island she could maybe call a friend, using a loose definition of the term, of course.

A quick glance back at the forest she had just left and she eased her anxieties as she spotted nothing but dense trees and shrubs. Turning back around with a small sigh, she found herself stumbling slightly on a rock and bracing herself for an impact with the ground as the pain in her leg kept her from regaining her balance. Nothing came, though, except for a pair of warm, soft hands and a kind, feminine chuckle as she was kept on her feet. Wide brown eyes shot up to see a middle aged woman had caught her, face glowing with a sweet and warm smile as she gave off a motherly feel of comfort and safety.

If only it was any other time, Nami might have felt more relieved.

Pulling herself out of the woman's grasp, Nami quickly bowed in apology and thanks while checking to make sure her hood and cloak were secure. She couldn't have this woman recognize her by any chance.

"Ah, I'm sorry, ma'am," she said hastily, tentatively peeking up at her while keeping her head lowered.

"It's okay, dear." The older woman chuckled again, pulling her own shawl over her heavy set form to shield her from the chilling rain that was falling. "Just be more careful. Are you hurt, though? I thought I saw you limping before you tripped?"

"Ah! It's just an old leg injury." Nami waved off her question, finally standing tall again once she felt confident that she wouldn't be recognized so easily. "It always acts up when it rains like this."

"Well then, best hurry and get out of the rain, dear." She scolded, waving her hand as she moved away to continue on with her own shopping, signaling the end to the conversation. "And keep an eye out for yourself. You should know there's a horrible pirate running around somewhere on this island, you don't want to find yourself caught up in any of his trouble."

Just as she was saying that, a small cadre of armed men went running by, the older woman grabbing her arm to help move her out of the way as they watched them run toward the forest shouting that someone spotted the man they were looking for. Nami's eyes narrowed thoughtfully on their retreating backs as they broke through the tree line and disappeared into the dense forest. Whoever it was that the Heart crew had left behind was obviously crafty, knew how to stay out of sight and was doing just fine running the men around in circles; she just hoped he wouldn't do the same to her.

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Nami gave the older woman a sweet smile and nod of thanks before turning to head in the opposite direction that the soldiers had run toward. With her back turned, she missed the older woman scrutinize her closely before walking into a nearby building. The small office space was empty save for one frail, elderly man sitting at a desk with a Den-Den Mushi and stacks of paper in front of him. Rifles and swords lined a back wall, cabinets next to them filled with ammunition and camouflage gear.

The man watched the woman closely as she inspected a few bounty fliers tacked to the wall, her eyes searching the rows of criminals still at large until they settled on one. When she caught the young woman, the cloak around her had slipped, exposing not just the orange hair she'd been hoping to hide, but a mark that was far more distinguishing that anything else about her.

A tattoo.

Snatching up the flyer, she quietly handed it to the man whose eyes went wide with surprise before he fumbled for his transponder to make a call.

A Straw Hat pirate on the same island as a Heart pirate, that was guaranteed to mean there was far more trouble coming to them than anything they'd feared before. It was their alliance that had sent the New World into the chaos it was in, the last thing they needed was for it to be renewed there.

Nami, meanwhile, was slowly making her way through the town, angling herself back toward the woods as indiscriminately as she could. The rain was becoming heavier, colder, and she knew she would have to find some shelter before continuing her search. Over the sound of the growing downpour, she could just make out the sounds of voices shouting a few blocks away, heavy boots trampling in the mud while heading in her direction. She hurried her own steps then, anxiety building while her hand went to grasp her staff beneath her rain sodden cloak.

Just as she rounded a corner on the very outskirts of the town, she heard a shout from behind her, calling for her to halt where she was. She didn't listen, though her back went rigid, posture prepared for anything as she ducked her head and continued on.

The footsteps became louder then, more numerous, too, as a group seemed to be following after her. She cursed under her breath, realizing that someone must have recognized her, probably the woman who helped her. With every second her pace quickened more, hurried walking turned into a light jog and then an all-out sprint as she headed for the woods.

Her run didn't last too long, barely past the tree line, before one of the men caught up and grabbed hold of her by the shoulder to twist her around. She didn't hesitate for a moment then, acting on instinct as she pulled out one of her batons and pointed it right at his chest as she called out to activate her gust sword. The man went flying away, along with two others that had been right behind him, but from the looks of it there were still at least twenty more soldiers bearing down on her from the town.

The rain falling harder on her made her cloak weigh her down as she grabbed hold of the other two batons to her staff, so she threw it off while tossing the batons up to lock them into place with the other in her hand. Orange hair plastered to the exposed skin of her back, her ever present bikini top of no protection to her, she glared hard at her attackers while gritting her teeth, trying to steady her nerves since she knew she couldn't run away this time. The soldiers all stopped a few feet from her, seeing her on the defensive, but no longer running, they quickly moved to surround her before she had another thought about escaping again.

"Cat thief Nami! You are hereby under arrest for piracy! Stand down and come quietly!" One man called out, stepping to the front of the group as the _de facto_ leader of the bunch. When she didn't move, only hunched down in further preparation of a fight, he called out again. "Big mistake, girl. You're surrounded, completely out-numbered and that staff won't do anything against swords and pistols."

Nami grinned in response, ignoring the sharp pain that was once again racing up her leg, the adrenaline coursing through her veins keeping her fully focused on the threat before her instead. They were underestimating her, but she knew how to fight when she had no other options. With a quick shout, she swept an end of her staff into the air, an egg popping out and heading into the clouds at her command. "Mistake's on you!" A few of them were dumb enough to keep their eyes on the egg hatching above them, dark thunder clouds swarming overhead looking ominous as they roiled into life. The leader didn't, immediately running forward as he pulled out a sword to swing it down on her head, only to have it blocked at the last second with the downward arc of her staff while she ducked slightly, grin still on her face.

The man was snarling, his temper incited by her stubborn show of defiance, his focus on the girl as he pulled back and prepared to swing again, he failed to realize the danger coming straight down at him. With a loud crack of thunder, lightning began to shoot down at her attackers, Nami guiding it with her staff while blocking blows from those who managed to dodge and get close to her. As the weather egg's power began to dissipate, over half the men lay on the ground unconscious and smoking from the lightning strikes, leaving Nami to face down the handful that was left.

Thinking she was already victorious as her gust sword blew away another two men, she never noticed the one soldier sneaking up behind her, the very first man who had grabbed her before being blown away. He'd recovered, waited for the moment that she was too caught up with the others, and now he had an opening. With the butt end of his rifle he towered over her from behind as she pushed away what she believed to be the last three men, and in a swift motion he brought his weapon down right at the base of her skull. The thwack against bone echoed through the trees, Nami's eyes widening in shock before rolling back slightly in her head as she fell to her knees.

He immediately began to laugh, the other men beginning to recover and swarm her again; eager to snatch up at least one pirate roaming their province that day, especially before she found the other one and struck up an alliance that would spell trouble for them. Swift and decisive trouble.

It was too bad for them that her wayward ally had found her first.

The man who had given Nami the sharp blow to the head was just reaching for her hair, intending to grasp it before she could hit the mud, her vision swimming, consciousness foggy, and drifting out of reach. In a heartbeat, though, he was gone, vanished, and a warm arm could be felt wrapping around her waist as her body fell forward. The soft fur of his coat was a welcome relief then, while at the back of her mind she wanted to scowl as she could practically hear the sadistic bastard smirk bemusedly.

"Why is it that wherever there's a Straw Hat, trouble is sure to be found… _Nami-ya_?" Her savior asked, his hand reaching out in front of him as she looked up still wishing she could scowl at Trafalgar Law's laid back attitude in the moment. His eyes weren't on her, though, staring straight ahead as he activated his room. Smirk turning into a wide grin as he began to uproot the trees around them and send them crashing down onto the men, Nami could only slump in his hold, her body going limp as she struggled to maintain consciousness.

Her movement must have gotten his attention as she vaguely heard him let out an irritated _'tsk,'_ before he used his powers to help them retreat. With the men's shouts echoing in the distance, Nami felt relief wash over her as Law adjusedt her in his arms before easing her down on the cool, damp ground. She felt slick granite against her back, her eyes opening to see that he had brought them to a small alcove cut into a hillside with large flat stones framing the cave and providing shelter from the heavy rain. The stone was cut too evenly to be anything of natural origin, Law's work obviously, the man apparently prepared to spend an extended amount of time hiding out on the island.

Her distant, dizzy observation of their surroundings were broken up as she suddenly felt Law's hand on her shoulder, pulling her forward as he wrapped his long coat around her. The warmth and calm surroundings made her want to fall asleep, the adrenaline of the fight wearing off as her head nodded forward for a moment, only to be caught by Law's firm hands and forced up to look at his steely eyes.

"No falling asleep, Nami-ya, not with a concussion." He commanded; his voice harsh with a slight bite of annoyance in his tone. Nami gave a slow nod of understanding, the captain returning her agreement with a small grunt before letting his hands run along her jaw, to the back of her head and neck where his fingers lightly pressed into the muscle and ran over her spine and skull. She was still confused as he examined her injury, but the dizziness was already starting to fade, though she really did want to shut her eyes and sleep.

With Law crouching in front of her, his hands thoroughly looking for fractures or cuts that could point to a more serious injury, Nami felt her head lull again, brushing over his shoulder as the quiet between them sent her mind drifting back toward sleep. Just as she began to lean into him, she felt him move, pushing her back against the rock wall and pulling her head up to catch his stern gaze again- a silent reprimand. "There's no cut, nothing appears broken, but there's a fair amount of swelling. You'll live, though."

"Thanks," she said honestly as he pulled away, the appreciation not just for his care over her injury, but for helping her out in the fight, as well. Law glanced at her for a moment, nodding slightly before turning back to grab a bottle of water he had hidden in the rocky hideout he'd fashioned for himself and handed it to her. Nami took it gratefully, drinking the fresh water as she felt her attention stabilize more. She cleared her throat as she handed the bottle back to him to put away before sinking back against the rock again.

"What are you doing here, Nami-ya?" He asked suddenly, straight to the point as he crouched down across from her with his arms over his bent knees, hands clasped in front of him.

"Looking for you, or at least your crew." She answered with a shrug, frowning to herself while she turned her head to look out the opening to the rain falling over the forest. "I was following that vivre card you had given me back at Dressrosa. Apparently I had just missed your crew leaving but I heard someone had been left behind."

Law nodded in understanding, his eyes still trained on her even as she looked away. "I saw you down at the cove when you arrived." Her eyes snapped to him in surprise, narrowing into a glare as she realized that strange feeling of being watched later on must have been because of him. Before she could complain about him not approaching her and saving her all of the trouble she'd just had, though, he raised his hand to silence her as he explained. "I had men on my trail still; it wouldn't do to lead them straight to you so I hung back until I had no choice. Now then, I understand you were looking for me, but why? Where's Mugiwara-ya and the rest of your crew?"

Nami's glare dropped into a sullen expression as she let out a sigh and turned her attention back outside. After a few moments of silence, she took a deep breath and prepared to tell him the story of the chaos that split her crew apart once again.

* * *

**Whew. Long chapter. But look! Law! Finally!**

**Next chapter you finally get to learn the specifics behind how Nami got separated from the crew, as well as why Law's alone (at least that's in the plan, though I might save it for the chapter after depending on length).**

**Expect a slight delay in the wait this time. I'm way behind schedule, but hopefully it won't take as long to write it as I'm expecting.**


	6. Chapter 6

**_(Italics)_ = flashback**

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or the characters, they belong to Eiichiro Oda.**

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_Chapter 6_

_Island's Quake_

"_Island! Island! Island!" Their captain chanted as he flung himself across the deck to the Sunny's lion figurehead, his childish excitement over the new destination looming in the distance not lessoning one bit. Chopper and Usopp were helping with the announcement, themselves, the pair running around on the lawn chanting right along with Luffy._

_Nami laughed at the trio's antics as she placed a hand on her forehead to shield her eyes from the sun, staring ahead at the island they had picked for their next stop before looking down at the spinning needles of her log pose. It was then she let out a small sigh, her amusement dying down as she saw the frantic movements of the needle pointing to the island. It wasn't the worst out of the three, but it wasn't the calmer choice, either; a compromise she had somehow managed to get from her captain after the hectic start to their New World voyage._

_She may have promised a tiny, very tiny, addition to his shopping allowance for meat to further persuade him._

_It looked peaceful from afar, but looks were always deceiving on the Grand Line; and in the New World especially. Considering what they've been seeing in the newspaper since their last departure, even the most peaceful island can prove deadly for a pirate. It seemed that the commotion they had made along with Trafalgar Law in Dressrosa had come with stricter oversight from the World Government as utter chaos descended among the pirates in the New World- a possibility Law had suggested, even if he downplayed it as merely 'confusion' at the time._

"_Alright, Luffy, but remember we have to be even more on guard for the Marines than normal." Nami called out before directing the crew to head to the east, away from the main port, to land in relative peace. "And wear your disguises!"_

_At the crew's cries of agreement, Nami nodded in satisfaction and finished guiding them to a safe area. They dropped anchor a few hundred yards from shore, opting to take the Mini Merry in turns so that they didn't overrun the island with their crew. She ended up going first with Luffy, Zoro, and Chopper, leaving the others behind to keep watch. There was no way she was going to let Luffy and Zoro go ahead on their own, after all, and Chopper wanted to look for some new Medical texts in town._

_Everything was going relatively well; the island itself seemed mostly safe, except for the regular earthquakes that seemed to be slowly splitting the island apart. It wasn't pleasant to find the ground moving underfoot every ten minutes, but it was better than a sea of fire in her mind. The town itself was built to handle the tectonic activity, everything withstanding the constant tremors better than would be expected, and better yet, no one there had recognized them._

_As they entered the town, Nami noted the island's name proudly decorating shops and hotels- Marseille- and found herself becoming eager to map it in detail, knowing the tremors were sure to mean some amazing land forms and ocean currents in the area. Distracted by the scenery as she carried Chopper in her arms, she glanced around to find her other two companions suddenly missing and let out a loud shout in surprise._

"_Those two idiots better not have found trouble already." She growled, setting Chopper on the ground while her eyes cast around to look for them, the reindeer immediately changing to his 'walking point' to sniff around as well and help the search._

_It only took them a few minutes before they found Luffy drooling over a cart of freshly cooked meats, stars in his eyes as he watched them make a huge sandwich for him. Without wasting a second, Nami grabbed the man by his cheek, tugging him along while his rubbery arms stretched out to snatch his food from the vendor. "Don't wander off like that, Luffy!"_

"_But Nami! I was hungry and the food smelled sooooo good!" He shouted back as she dragged him along in her search for Zoro, Chopper running ahead the moment he caught a scent. There was no use arguing with her captain, she should have been paying better attention knowing just what to expect from both men, and merely let him shove his food into his mouth and eat happily as Chopper returned, an annoyed and shouting Zoro being pushed ahead of him._

"_Hey! It's not my fault if you guys got lost!" Nami sighed in annoyance at his protests, punching the swordsman in the back of the head the moment he got in her reach._

"_You're both idiots! If what the papers said is true, we have to stick together. Now come on, we can't waste too much time here." The two men sulked as she and Chopper pulled them along to the town's bookstore. She glanced back at them again with a thoughtful frown before sighing wistfully and saying something she knew would cheer them up. "Sanji-kun needs his chance to restock our meat and liquor, so the sooner we get back, the sooner he can do that."_

_That got Luffy's attention, and begrudgingly Zoro's, too, as they picked up their pace and stuck beside their two more directionally oriented crewmates._

_After three hours on the island, with their captain and swordsman getting lost only five more times, the group began to head back with some supplies and books. As they finished loading things into the Mini Merry, they were alarmed by the sound of a huge explosion not far out to sea, near the area they had left the Sunny. The group quickly set off for their ship and just as they came around a coastal peninsula that they had used to help obscure the ship from the town, they were shocked to see five Marine warships completely surrounding the Sunny. _

_With a loud shout, Luffy rushed into action the moment they were close enough, Zoro not far behind. Navigating their smaller vessel between warships, the pair began to attack to give Nami and Chopper cover to get aboard the Sunny and reunite with their crew. Things were incredibly chaotic, every member fighting for their lives and freedom._

"_Nami-swan!" Sanji called out as he kicked away a few Marines that were in her way from getting aboard, reaching her and Chopper in an instant to help them secure the small ship and get them onto the main deck. "We have no idea where these guys came from," he explained in a rush, "one second things were as peaceful as ever, the next these shitty Marines were bearing down on us. Did something happen on the island?"_

"_No. Nothing at all. It was probably the easiest trip ashore we've had in a while." Nami answered while getting set to unleash a large thunderstorm over the warships, hoping to electrocute as many as she could while the others took the individual fighters that were coming onto their ship._

_Somewhere at the back of her mind, Nami knew that their uneventful time on the island should have been a red flag that something was up, that things on that island weren't as they seemed. She made her way through the battle to Robin, pressing her back to the older woman's as they fought together. "Robin, have you ever heard of an island called Marseille?"_

_Robin's eyes widened as she let out a small gasp of surprise, her arms still crossed as her devil fruit powers took down more of the Marines surrounding them. "Marseille? It's supposed to be a heavily defended island. A fortress; a key Marine trap in the New World."_

_That explained everything to Nami as she swung her staff down hard on a man's skull; the relatively peaceful town was used to lull pirates and criminals, get them off their guard and separated while the Marines got in position to attack. She still had no idea how they managed to sneak up on their own crew, though, but that was something that could be answered another time, first they had to escape._

_Looking up at the sky as thunder rolled through the air, she smiled to herself and shouted out a warning to Zoro and Luffy who were fighting aboard two of the warships. Luffy wouldn't be hurt by her attack, and Zoro had certainly withstood it before, but if it went right, they needed to be on board the Sunny so they could get away while the Marines were distracted. The second the two men landed on the lawn of the ship, Nami swung her staff down and sent large bolts of lightning raining down on their attackers._

_It was peaceful for a moment, Nami standing straight with a smug look on her face while Franky hurried to the helm, intent on rocketing them away before the smoke from the lightning bursts cleared. Their relief was short lived, though, as they heard loud laughter and shouts of victory from the Marines, Nami's attention snapping to the ships to peer closely at them. On the very bow of every ship there was a strange metal needle jutting out from the figurehead, lightning still crackling around it as it seemed to be pulling all of the electricity into it._

_Her eyes went wide with shock- they had come prepared for her attack, fitting their ship with lightning rods. Except, they weren't just any lightning rods, they were Vegapunk lightning rods._

_She shouted as she realized what was happening, the electrical charges suddenly surging around the needle point. It was too late, though, and with a controlled ferocity, her own lightning was sent blasting at them from all five ships, the joint attack overwhelming all of them._

_Blacking out for a moment, Nami awoke to hear Luffy's angry shouts, steam rising from his body as he shifted into his Second Gear and prepared to attack. Vaguely she heard a strange clicking noise coming from the port side of the ship, her tired eyes casting over to see the captain of one of the warships standing next to a sniper with a strange bazooka resting on his shoulder, aiming right at her own captain. Normally she wouldn't think too much of it, Luffy more than capable of handling it with his rubber body, but the Marine captain's calm demeanor as he held a clipboard, scrawling notes on it as he spoke to his subordinate, set off loud warning bells in her head._

"_Destination: Alpha Zulu dash zero zero three. On my mark." The captain said, his tone bored as he kept his eyes on his paper._

"_Luffy!" Nami hollered out in warning as she watched him push off, aiming to punch at the Marine captain as he lost his temper. _

"_Fire."_

_Nami's voice caught in her throat as the Marine shot one round on Luffy, the young man not appearing to think it any sort of a threat until a second before it struck him. His eyes went wide, his instincts reacting as he tried to dart out of the way, but it wasn't fast enough as the large bullet hit him right in the chest._

_In that instant he vanished._

_She could have sworn she heard him screaming in the distance, his voice being carried away while she sat on the deck staring in shock at the spot he had just been. Her captain was gone. Her friend. The man she owed her life and freedom to. Disappeared before her eyes._

_There was only one time she'd seen a power like that- Bartholomew Kuma._

_Real, true chaos erupted from the crew then, all of them hollering for their lost captain while jumping up to return to their fight. They'd find him. They wouldn't give up until they did._

_As the marines began to attack again, Nami struggled to fight them off, knowing her lightning was only going to hurt them more if she used it again, so she was left with her gust sword and her normal staff fighting. While she fought, though, she kept her eyes on the Marine captain still standing on the warship's bow, jotting away on his clipboard while the man next to him reloaded his bazooka._

_The sound of steel on steel next to her forced her attention away from them so she could stare at Zoro's strong back as he pushed away three men who had apparently been about to attack her while she wasn't looking. "Zoro!" She called to him, catching his gaze as he slid his good eye back to her while fighting off more men bearing down on both of them, and waited for her to speak again. "Take out that bazooka before they get it loaded again!"_

_A small nod and grunt from the man as he took out five more men, sending them flying over board as he turned to face down the bigger threat. Sheathing two of his swords, he took his stance, glaring hard at the steadfast captain and his now very nervous comrade._

"_Destination: Alpha Zulu dash zero zero six. __On my mark. " He said as Zoro launched himself at them, well aware of the danger he was facing down._

"_Fire."_

_Zoro was prepared after seeing his captain disappear and swung down the moment the Marine's finger began to unsteadily pull at the trigger. His sword split the bazooka straight down the middle, sending the blast rocketing back at the sniper who suddenly vanished as the pieces to the gun fell down in his position._

_The sound of a second shot being fired had everyone standing still again._

_Smoke poured out the chamber of a second gunner's weapon from where he had been crouched behind the first._

_Zoro was gone._

"_Change that to destination: Alpha Zulu dash zero zero seven." The captain said, making the change on his clipboard while the new gunner took the position next to him. The man's eyes cast up from his notes to set right on Nami as soon as he was done, and she immediately figured out their strategy with his next command. "Aim for the navigator next. Destination: Alpha Zulu-"_

"_Nami-swan!" His words were cut off as Sanji jumped into action next, the man not about to see them aim for a defenseless woman._

"_Sanji! NO!" She tried to warn him, but his erupted anger made him deaf to her as he kicked his way closer to the warship. She watched as the captain nodded at the gunner who quickly turned his weaponry onto the cook instead of her and fired before he even had the command._

"_As I was saying, Destination: Alpha Zulu dash zero zero eleven. Now the navigator."_

_They were taking out the strongest among them first. Without their top three fighters, the Marines felt they were sitting ducks with no choice but to be finished off. Now, they would aim at who they felt had command without the captain there, and that was her, as evidenced by the direction she had given Zoro before. It was all carefully planned out, and she found herself sinking into pure hopelessness and despair, even as her remaining crewmates jumped right back into the fray to try and get away with whatever they could intact. They could find the three lost men; they just couldn't allow themselves to lose anyone else lest they all lose hope._

_Nami was distracted, though, unable to fight with a clear head as she struggled in her mind to figure out a strategy to get away. Out of nowhere she found hands sprouting around her, pulling her out of the way as two more Marines came crashing down where she had been. Her eyes snapped to Robin who merely sent her a comforting look that urged her back into action. After a nod, she began to fight again, taking out whoever came near here while pushing men off the ship with her gusts. They seemed to be making some progress, not much, but Franky was at the helm and preparing a Coup de Burst to get them away, so it was something._

"_Destination:-" The captain's voice could be heard again, signaling the pirates to divert their attention to him and his sniper as they aimed at Nami once more._

"_Nami!" Robin and Usopp both called out, the older woman's arms crossing while she concentrated on making more arms bloom around the Marine gunner. A shot from another ship suddenly rang out before they heard Robin cry out in surprise, her devil fruit powers vanishing while she found herself wrapped up with Sea Stone chains. As the woman went crashing to the deck, Usopp prepared to fire something at the gunner, himself, while the captain continued his orders._

"_- Bravo Zulu dash zero zero one." As he spoke, Usopp launched one of his seeds at the warship, a large plant springing up to completely block them, obscuring the Sunny while he gestured for Nami to run for cover. In an instant, though, the plant was up in flames, revealing a group of men with flame throwers taking out the cover while Nami made a run for it._

_They were still prepared, though, and the gunner moved in an instant to aim at her retreating back._

"_Fire."_

_The remaining Straw Hat crew cried out as the shot hit Nami's back right before she could get inside to safety. Her name was the last thing she heard as she found herself surrounded by a thin film and flying over the ocean._

_For three days._

_To the trap that was waiting just for her._

* * *

"I have no idea what happened to my crew after that," Nami said to Law who was watching her carefully as she told him about the last week she had to endure. "Once I escaped the marines, I decided to search for you and your crew." Law's eyes went wide for a moment, the man sitting up straight as he regarded her closely, waiting for her to explain her reasoning as she pulled out the Vivre Card he'd given her. "I didn't know where to even begin looking for Luffy and the others, but I knew where to start looking for you. If I was going to have even a single shot at survival, I needed someone I could possibly trust." He raised a disbelieving eyebrow at her, but still refrained from saying anything. "And you know a lot more about the New World, as well as the Marines' tactics; you must have some idea what they could have done with the others… Not to mention the fact I place all the blame on you for pushing the New World into this huge mess."

He was silent for a long moment staring hard at her as he appeared to be thinking. When he finally spoke again, he stood up and turned to stand at the entry to their small cave, his arms crossed over his chest while looking out at the forest. "And what makes you think I'd be so willing to help you, Nami-ya? I have my own problems to deal with, and as far as I'm concerned I don't see helping you and your captain to be in my favor."

Nami growled, pushing herself up to walk unsteadily over to him, taking her stance next to him as she glared. He idly noted the limp, his eyes subtly casting down to the shoddily wrapped gauze around her thigh, the sight causing him to frown as she spoke lowly. "You know very well that helping me is in your favor. You need Luffy out on those seas. You need him doing what he does best- creating a storm wherever he goes. You won't get what you want with him stuck in Impel Down… or worse." Her voice trailed off with her last words and he could see that she was trying not to imagine that worst case scenario, tears just barely brimming at the corners of her eyes as she held together a strong front.

With a low sigh, he let his gaze leave her again, staring forward as he gave her an almost imperceptible nod of agreement. "Alright, I'll help you, but we do things my way or not at all."

Nami grit her teeth in irritation, unhappy that she'd have to go at his pace when she knew just how willful and reckless he can be- almost as bad as Luffy in that regard- but he had a good head on his shoulders, plans and goals that gave him a focus and drive she could respect enough to follow. Giving him her own nod, she turned to sit back down and rest, her head spinning from the movement and the wound in her leg aching once again.

As she settled onto the ground again, back pressed against the rock as she shut her eyes, she was shocked by the feeling of hands carefully wrapping around her injured thigh. With her eyes shooting open to stare in surprise at Law, she watched as he began to quietly undo her bandages with little more than a murmur of an explanation, his attention glued to his work. "You'll slow us down if you keep hobbling about with this. I'll treat you until you're well and we can plan our leave from this island."

She smiled softly at him, a gesture he didn't see because he didn't want to see it, and let him work in peace. Hope bloomed in her chest. She knew with the alliance in place she would have her family back.

* * *

**Looooooong chapter again. For those still confused by what was used to separate the crew this time, I will be going a bit more in depth with that in later chapters, along with what happened to the five Straw Hats that were left after Nami was sent flying. I have some vague plans for them.**

**A note on the island name I picked, by the way- yes, I named it after Marseille, France. Why? Because it's a city with a lot of history in terms of war and revolution, as well as being a naval base at one point in time (possibly still is? I'm not sure). Plus I wanted something French, don't ask me why, I just did.**

**Also, yes, I used the military phonetic alphabet in there.**

**As for what happened in chapter 729 this last week (for those keeping up with the manga)- I'm holding out hope right now, but I already have a few ideas in mind for whatever happens to Law in the upcoming chapters, but until we know for sure I'm going to be extremely vague about the events on Dressrosa. Who knows, I might have this story finished before Oda's even done with that arc, doubtful, but never know.**

**My plans for Thanksgiving this week all revolve around writing, so unless something comes up, I expect that I'll have another chapter for you next weekend. Check my tumblr for any updates if that changes, though.**


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or the characters, they belong to Eiichiro Oda.

* * *

_Chapter 7_

_The course is set_

For four days they both moved around the small island, from one hiding spot to another while Nami healed from her injuries. The concussion cleared fast enough, but Law didn't want to risk setting sail on a rickety little boat like her borrowed one when she still had a wounded leg. Treating an infection on the open seas was only going to be more trouble neither of them needed.

He had explained that he sent his crew off without him to keep any Admirals from going after them just yet, and he still had unfinished business on that island, business he didn't seem inclined to let her in on any time soon. Nami wasn't going to push for information, not when he was being kind enough to go out of his way to help her, and she knew he'd let her in on his plan when he saw fit to. All she knew so far was that he was looking for something there.

Every morning, just before dawn, he'd take off for an hour or two, moving some of the stones and trees of the forest to mask their latest hiding place while she stayed behind to rest. The first time he did that she freaked out, understandably so in her opinion, and it took a lot of reassurances from him before she let him go off alone. When he returned a few hours later, he came empty handed and hollering for her to pack up and get moving. He had been spotted.

Each day went like that. He'd go out alone. Get caught. They'd move. And it'd happen all over again the next day. The repetition, even over just a few days, was tedious and frustrating, and once Nami felt stable enough again, she was ready to help if only he'd let her. She was done wasting time. Luckily, he was, too.

"There's an herb." He explained quietly within the latest rocky den they'd claimed. Her silent confusion told him he'd have to say more, but he paused expecting some sort of loud outburst for a moment; when he didn't get it, he went on. "You don't need to know what it does, or what I need it for, but it's crucial I find it. In my hands, it'll tip everything in my favor against the Marines and World Government. It's only found on this island. The government here has destroyed every last plant growing in the wild to keep it away from not just pirates, but from the civilians, too. My information tells me that somewhere in that town, there's an underground garden. I've narrowed it down to a single building that's heavily guarded inside."

He paused, the distaste of what he was about to say next evident in the frown on his face.

"I could use a cat thief's skills to steal a small sample for myself."

Nami couldn't help but smile, leaning forward with her tongue stuck out partially between her lips, a mischievous, teasing glint in her eyes. "Are you asking for my help, Law?"

His scowl was all the answer she needed.

She gave him a little wink and thumbs up in return before jumping up and pulling her staff out to prepare to get to work. "Alright, what's the plan?"

* * *

Nami ducked down in an alley a few buildings from the one she was targeting, Law's warm coat wrapped around her form obscuring her in the shadows. It was serving two purposes for her- shielding her from the bitterly cold rain that was once more falling over the island, an ever present weather pattern there, but also to help her smuggle out the prize Law was sending her after. Her eyes were trained on the street as she hid, waiting for her cue to make a move. She could see two guards standing at the entrance, rifles in hand, and their attention sweeping over the area on the lookout for anyone trying to get into the building that shouldn't be there. Law had said it was supposed to be heavily guarded inside, though, so the two guards were the least of her worries at that point.

There was a loud crash a few hundred yards down the street. She didn't pay it any mind, other than to prepare to spring into action the second those guards took the bait.

The men's heads snapped around at the sound, their eyes going wide as they watched a large stone tower sliced in half, the top portion crashing to the ground as civilians scattered, screaming about the pirate Trafalgar Law destroying their town. The sound of his sword slicing into another building, an explosion following shortly after, prompted the guards to pound on the entrance they were watching before taking off to try and fight a man they were ill prepared to beat.

Idly Nami hoped that Law had kept to his promise that no civilians would get hurt, that the properties he was taking apart in his grand distraction were emptied long before he attacked. With his powers it was easy enough to remove the people from inside, but Law, while not as heartless and cruel as many thought him to be, was still incredibly reckless. There was no time to worry, though, she had a job to do in order for them to get off the island and onto the task of finding her crew.

Shortly after the two stationed at the building took off, Nami watched as more men trickled out, all staring in shock at the destruction Law was causing before running past where she was hiding and heading into battle. After the last one left, Nami took off in a sprint for the door, sliding in just before it closed and locked automatically.

What she saw had her frozen in place in a heartbeat.

There were still plenty of men inside on guard, all of them now staring in surprise before jumping to aim their guns at her, hollering for her to surrender or die right there. Nervous laughter escaped her as she pressed her back to the door, her timid and innocent appearance only a mask, though. Her hand was subtly pulling out a baton of her staff to release her weather eggs containing dark storm clouds. The small cloud filled bubbles drifted up to the ceiling, the men not noticing as they slowly spread out above them, growing and swelling as lightning began to lick at the edges of their barriers.

"Ahahaha… wrong building!" Nami called out as she pushed the entrance back open, darting out and shutting the door most of the way, a baton kept in place to keep it partially open while she ducked on the other side just in time for a surge of electricity to come pouring out of the room.

As the screams and lightning began to die out, Nami twisted around, pulling the door open just enough to peek in and see everyone in the room knocked out on the floor, hair and clothes singed, limbs twitching as another shock raced through them, and none of them even aware she was still there. Releasing a sigh, she pulled herself in, hoping that the larger attack didn't draw too much attention her way, and that Law's bigger threat outside kept most of the stronger people on the island focused on him.

The sound of footsteps running toward her from deeper in the building came to Nami's attention. Throwing her batons together, she gave a quick swing of her staff to activate her Mirage Tempo, obscuring her form just as more people came charging in. With a silent ease that only an experienced thief could have, she gracefully dodged between the shocked and confused men checking on their comrades. It was her lucky day, too, as one of the unconscious men awoke only to tell the others that she had escaped outside- they hadn't noticed her return.

As all but a few went running out to search for her, she only walked further into the building, pushing through a door before letting it fall shut slowly, quietly behind her. The door lead to a staircase heading down, a warm glow emanating from below that lead her to believe Law had been very correct in his information. She didn't waste any time in heading down four flights of stairs, coming to a stop at the bottom to take in the immense sight in front of her.

It wasn't an underground garden. It was too big to be called that. The room, more like cavern, spread out before her, easily large enough to be buried beneath the entire town, not just that one building. It was an elaborate plantation beyond what she could have imagined.

Shaking off the surprise, Nami glanced around to decide the best course for removing a small sample for Law. There were workers all over the place, paying absolutely no mind to the commotion happening above ground, despite the occasional tremors she felt from the large crashes.

'_Just what is Law doing up there?'_ She thought to herself as she moved further into the cavern, skirting around the fields to avoid direct contact with the herb. Law had warned her not to touch it with bare skin, and she could see by the workers' apparel, covered head to toe in protective gear, she definitely wanted to heed his warning. _'And just what kind of trouble is he thinking of causing with this stuff?'_

No time to really question the man whose motives were always mysterious; her attention moved to a large shack built against a far wall that a few of the employees were going in and out of. It was the best place to start, in Nami's opinion, so she quickly sprinted that way, her mirage holding so no one saw her. Peeking into a small window on the side of the building, she spotted what looked like a processing lab, jars filled with a few stems and seedlings were scattered on the shelves, scientists studying them over work benches, and against a far wall exactly what she needed.

Small containers, glowing with artificial light, sat in a locked glass case. They didn't contain just stems and seeds, but an entire immature plant. It was most likely what they used to cultivate the seeds to plant in the farm to get the larger crops, the original herbs that had been salvaged before the residents razed the islands naturally occurring crops.

With an excited smile plastered onto her face, Nami snuck around to the entrance of the lab, slipping in completely undetected once more, and headed for the locked case- but not before sneaking past a scientist and picking the keys out of his pocket. As soon as she had it open, she grabbed a container and slid it into the pocket of Law's large coat, gently shutting the glass door just as one of the technicians turned in her direction. His eyes swept over her and the cabinet, not noticing anything out of place just yet while her mirage kept up appearances. Before he could notice the missing canister, she bolted out of there, dropping the borrowed keys onto a table and sprinting for the stairs back to the entrance.

Just as she set foot on the first step up, she heard large shouts, an alarm blaring, and everyone jumping into action. They had noticed her thievery, but it was already too late. Upstairs the guards were in a panic, rushing around and trying to find her, but they all just passed her by as her staff continued to hide her until she made it out the door and onto the street.

Running outside, she found herself surrounded by chaos; Law's staged battle having made it all the way to the building. She was relieved then because she could clearly see he was holding back, sticking to property damage to keep the soldiers away. A few of the bolder men weren't so lucky still, finding themselves disfigured by each sweeping arc of his sword should they find themselves too close, his powers kept them alive, but it was still traumatizing for them.

Just as another large building was brought crashing between him and the soldiers after him, Nami dropped her staff's illusion, revealing herself to him as she ran up to him calling his name. His eyes shot to her, narrowed and fierce and entirely too frightening as he pushed out a hand and extended his room past her and the building she just exited.

She couldn't help it- she screamed the second she saw him begin sweeping his sword directly toward her. She had no idea what he was thinking, and her instincts cried out that he was going to slice her up along with everyone else there, despite her being an ally. Her natural reaction was to panic, screaming and cursing at him not to hurt her until he hollered one word at her.

"_DUCK!_"

He didn't have to tell her twice as she hit the ground, careful to angle her body to keep herself from landing on the plant in her coat. She covered her head just in time to hear loud screams behind her and the farm's building sliced apart. Nervously shaking, she peeked behind her to see the guards had come out behind her and were on her heels the second she dropped her mirage, but now they were split in half along with everything else. A dark chuckle had her attention turning back to Law, watching him begin twisting his hands around, sending their bodies and the top part of the building flying around the large area of his operating room.

He was having fun before they left.

"You have it, Nami-ya?" He asked distractedly, slowly piecing together the men with various objects, setting the roof of the farm teetering on its side atop another house nearby. Destruction was everywhere, and she couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the town because of it.

She gave him a small nod, little more than an affirmative hum escaping her throat as she regained her bearings after that traumatizing moment she thought he was about to kill her.

"Good, let's go then!" Law dropped what he was doing with the town's occupants in favor of running toward her and grasping her by the arm to haul her up off the ground. His pause in attack left an opening for the soldiers to charge, but they were too late. One second they were there, and another they were a mile away in the forest near the cove she had docked her ship.

"You know you could have given me a little warning back there before you nearly sliced my head off!" She couldn't help but lecture him as he lead the way, his hand still on her arm to keep her steady on the slick ground.

"I did." Law's tone was flat, bored, obviously unperturbed by her fiery reaction.

"You could have given it _sooner_ than that! Ugh, you're as reckless and unpredictable as Luffy." Her tirade quickly turned into quiet grumbling. Her temper was quickly eased when she heard him chuckling in front of her, her lips pulling into a frown as she narrowed her eyes on his back. "What's so funny?"

"Those words, coming from you, I'll take them as a compliment," he explained, glancing back with that sly smirk on his face, amusement shining bright in his blue eyes. "And gratitude for saving you again back there. Now come on, we don't have much time before they start launching bounty hunter ships to look for us."

The glare she had been giving him for his airy acceptance of her remarks melted away as she agreed it wasn't time to argue over something so trivial, especially since in a way he was right to take it as a compliment. She nodded and picked up her pace to keep up with him. Once they reached the cove, Law helped her down the slippery rocks, holding her hand to steady her descent while his eyes glanced up the hill warily from time to time. She knew enough to know that he was sensing something; that people were out there looking for them.

"Can your staff create fog, Nami-ya?" He quietly asked while helping her into the boat, his eyes once more trained on the hill.

"No problem," she answered as he climbed in after her and used his nodachi to push them away from the shore. The already cold climate made it easy for her to create a dense fog from the rain clouds hovering over the island, just a few heat eggs and the cold air condensed around them to shield them as they slowly drifted out to sea. She knew Law was trying to reserve his powers in case they had another fight to handle out on the open ocean, so it was best they left without anyone spotting them.

They both kept silent as they let the current take them away, Nami continuously releasing heat eggs into the cool air to maintain their foggy cover. While it helped to hide them, it also meant they couldn't see any pursuers themselves. After a few minutes, Nami turned to Law, "I think we're-"

Her words were cut off as he clamped his hand on her mouth, a tattooed finger held to his lips to shush her before pointing to his right. Wide eyed, she felt panic rise in her as she heard it through the fog- water churning, the sound of a larger ship heading toward them, the shouts of the men on board getting clearer as they got closer. As the water became choppier, their tiny boat rocking violently as it neared, she turned her terrified eyes toward Law and whimpered behind his hand. She didn't want to be caught, but she also didn't want their getaway vessel to be completely shattered should the bounty hunters' ship strike them in the fog.

Law shook his head at her, his hand tightening around her face while the other grabbed hold of the side of their boat, keeping himself steady as he pulled her in close to make sure she didn't lose her balance either. Nami held completely still then, grasping onto his arm with one hand, holding it there so that he helped keep her silent, unsure if she could keep her terrified sounds quiet herself just then. The other hand held tight to the railing of their ship, knuckles white as it rocked more and more as the larger ship just barely skirted past them.

Quiet, tense minutes passed them by, the water began to calm, their boat once more gently drifting. As they both relaxed, Law slowly pulled his hand back from her mouth and turned to ease back on the bench he had claimed, leaning against the side completely relaxed even as he gave her a hard glare. "_Now_ we're clear."

Nami huffed, returning his glare before she picked herself up and moved to unfurl the sail to catch the wind that was picking up. Once they were moving at a steady pace, she pulled out her vivre card leading to the rest of Law's crew, steering the boat until it lined up with the direction the card gave her and then glancing idly at the stoic captain once more. "Did you have a meeting point set up, or are we just looking for your crew without any idea where they might be?"

"They were supposed to be heading to an unoccupied island about two days from here. As long as nothing happened to them on the way here, we should be finding them in a safe place." He explained; his eyes shutting as he got comfortable for the relatively short voyage. "Once we find them, then we can talk about finding your crew. I might have an idea where to start looking based on those coordinates, but it's not a guarantee since I wasn't privy to the details of all of Vegapunk's research."

She nodded in understanding before taking a seat across from him and began sliding his coat off, the weather warming as they got away from the island more. "Ah!" She cried out in afterthought, getting Law's lazy attention as he slid open an eye to peer at her in confusion. He watched as she slowly reached into the pocket of his jacket, the movement prompting him to open both eyes to see as she pulled out the glass container with the very plant he'd sent her after. "Almost forgot about this little guy."

Law grinned, sitting up as he reached out to take the plant from her. He examined it closely, turning the jar around in his hand to see that it was in excellent condition and would work perfectly for what he had planned himself. "Good job, Nami-ya." He appraised her while taking his coat back, tucking the glowing canister into the pocket where it would be safe among the soft folds. "We'll probably be needing this if we want to have any chance in freeing Mugiwara-ya."

Nami looked at him curiously, frowning lightly as she watched him settle back into his relaxed position to rest. She could tell he was plotting something, but if it was something he would use to help her, then she wouldn't complain. At that moment all that mattered was getting her crew back, getting her captain back; she'd question his methods later.

* * *

**Finally! This took me way longer than I thought to write, but there it is. I'm sure with this little subplot, I'm just piling on the questions and making you all wonder just what the hell I have in mind.**

**I can't tell you, though.**

**Just wait, it'll be something big... I think. XD**

**Next chapter, expect another one to two weeks for it. These are far longer than what I've been used to writing lately, plus the insanity that is Dressrosa in the manga has me on edge... and partially hesitating in my plans because I want to have as much information from that as possible. But alright, reviews are always appreciated, and look for progress updates on my tumblr when I think of giving them, lol.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Woo! My internet kept cutting out all night, but luckily it seems to have come back in time for me upload the hard work that came from not having tumblr constantly distracting me. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or the characters, they belong to Eiichiro Oda.**

* * *

_Chapter 8_

_A Planned Detour_

"Why did you want this?"

Nami's question broke the constant veil of silence that shrouded them as they sailed toward the rendezvous point with Law's crew. They weren't far, she knew that much, but she had finally reached her limit sitting there with Law hardly speaking a word. The captain had lounged in the spot he had first claimed, only moving to eat the scant pieces of food Nami had stored aboard the boat before they left, only speaking when the weather changed or a Sea King attacked and he had to act to keep them afloat. As much as the peace was a welcome change of pace from what she was used to with her own crew, it was almost burdensome after so long not knowing anything of what was on Law's mind.

Apparently he wasn't having any problem with the silence, if his surprised expression was anything to go off of. His eyes snapped to her, looking at her as if he had completely forgotten she was there, before narrowing in confusion at the random question. "Want what?"

"This chaos? To see the New World turned on its head?" She clarified, her arms waving around her as if to showcase the utter insanity they were stuck in now because of his aspirations.

"It's none of your concern, Nami-ya," he grunted, shutting his eyes to her as he slumped down further in his reclined position. "Anyway, it would have happened sooner or later. Between Mugiwara-ya's constant involvement in taking on the World Government and corrupt leaders, the Revolutionary Army's movements to do the very same, and pirates like Eustass-ya setting fire to the world, the World Government was bound to react this way. I just gave it a little push to speed up the process."

Nami glared at him but said nothing for a few long moments, knowing that he was right, that everything they were doing was bound to come with these consequences, with or without Law's involvement. Still, he admitted it himself; he gave them that final push by allying with her crew and taking on a man like Doflamingo, with more sway in the World Government than even Law had been aware of.

"This is what comes with the end of an era, Nami-ya," Law said with a sigh as he pulled himself up and moved to stand in front of her, practically towering above her as he met her glare with a frown. "The start of a new era is never clean; never easy; never without bloodshed and sacrifice. The majority of your crew may not have consciously realized it, but you were already ushering it in with every fight your captain picked. My motives are my own, and probably not so dissimilar to your crew's. I suggest if you're so curious to know what I plan to get out of this war, you should reflect on what you and your friends wish to gain first."

Her glare narrowed slightly, eyebrows scrunching together as she considered his words. Her crew had no motives other than to achieve their dreams, live as freely as they wished as a family, all of them supporting the man who brought them together. There were no motives, no intentions, just everyone fighting for their dream. Maybe something more grew from that, another purpose, another desire to see the world change, but they hardly sought it out as directly as Law or others were. Was it just that he was more aware, more honest of what he wanted from the world?

A rough wave hit the ship, breaking her out of her silent thoughts as she lost her balance at the sharp motion. Just as she was reaching for the side of the ship, she felt a firm hand clasping around her shoulder, holding her steady in the rougher waters. Her eyes snapped up to look at Law once more, but his eyes weren't on her as he stared straight ahead at something in the distance, his expression as unreadable as ever. Idly she noted how solid his stance was in the small boat, that subtle characteristic almost reassuring to her that she had in fact been right to seek him out, that if anyone could keep calm in the face of the threats ahead, it was Trafalgar Law.

"We're here." He said finally, drawing her attention to the small island in the distance, little better than a pile of sand with some rocks on it as far as she could tell. Her gaze moved over the land until it spotted the very top of Law's submarine just sticking out of the water near the coast, a few of his crew members sitting on the beach, and she felt relief wash over her once again.

Within a few minutes, they were pulling their boat closer to the shore where Shachi and Penguin came running up to greet them, helping the pair land on the sandy beach.

"Nami!? What are you doing here?" Shachi asked in surprise, even as he took her hand to help her climb onto shore.

"We'll discuss that later," Law interrupted, jumping onto the beach as he spoke. "How did things go for you guys?"

"Ah! Bepo and Jean Bart got captured." Penguin answered, his expression seeming completely relaxed, something that didn't match up with what he was saying in Nami's mind.

"Good." Law's simple answer as he began to walk the beach toward his own ship had Nami crying out in shock, the young woman running to catch up with Law's strides, facing him as she walked alongside him.

"What do you mean 'good'!? Two members of your crew were arrested! How can you be so relaxed about that!?" She hollered at him, not expecting him to be so cavalier about his own crew's well-being when she had never seen him treat them like that before. "We have to go save them!"

Law came to an abrupt halt at her lecturing, turning to glare at her, his tone firm and uncompromising. "When I said I would help you, I told you that we'd be going at my pace whether you like it or not. You know that I had plans already in action; well, this was part of my plan. If you trusted me enough to come to me for help, then trust that I know what I'm doing."

The tension between them could be felt by all of Law's crew as Nami stared him down, unwavering and unafraid as she considered what he said. Everyone took a step back from the two, their eyes flickering back and forth between the two silently standing off. After a long moment, Nami let out a huff, crossing her arms and looking away from him as she silently conceded. The captain didn't say another word to her, merely turned back toward his ship again waving for his men to follow.

"Thanks to Nami-ya's help, I have exactly what we need," he explained to the men as they began to climb aboard, reaching into the coat he was carrying for the container with the herb and tossing it to Shachi. "Start preparing that for harvest while we head for the base they took the other two to." He paused, glancing back at Nami with a smirk on his face once they were on deck. "That island you were being taken to; looks like you'll be paying it another visit sooner than you thought. I have a feeling we'll both be coming away with the exact information we need to continue on to find your crew and captain."

* * *

It took about three days for them to make it to the island that Nami was originally going to be imprisoned on. In that time Law clued her in a little bit on what his plan was; they weren't just there to rescue their two crew members, they were also looking for some of Vegapunk's research related to the herb Law had gone through all the trouble to steal. The rescue was merely a diversion while a few of his crew members snuck into the base to retrieve what he needed.

"I told you that the government had razed the land of every last leaf of that plant while also creating an underground crop to create it for themselves only. The lab they have there is merely to test potency of the herb's main property, the research for actual application of the herb toward weaponry is held at the nearest Marine base, which happens to be where they also send any pirate or crook that shows up on that island to process them before sending them off to Enies Lobby and Impel Down." Law explained as they all crowded around a map in the dining room after dinner. His hand pointed at the side of the island opposite of the port town Nami had been hiding in, there a large military installation was sketched out on the map. "I managed to get my hands on this information while I was still a Shichibukai, and as far as I know they haven't changed anything. The bio-weapon research area of the base is on the south side of the base, further inland, while the main prison is on the north-east side, near the coast on the edge of a cliff that is near impossible to scale."

Nami nodded along with his explanation, her eyes sweeping over the map to take in every detail that could be found so she could at least be of help in Law's plan. "So, do you want me to go with the party to steal the synthesizing research?"

"No," he answered firmly with a shake of his head, his expression blank, leaving Nami to wonder just why he wouldn't want to use her own skills again like he had in obtaining the plant in the first place. "I need you to come with myself and Shachi to rescue my crew. Your lightning and weather manipulation will be more to my advantage in distracting the base members and drawing them away from Penguin and his small group who will be searching the facility."

Somewhere at the back of her mind, she felt alarm bells going off, that something wasn't right about Law's plan. While she agreed that she could certainly create a large scale distraction with her staff, she couldn't help but think he had another reason to take her with him.

"Is that going to be a problem, Nami-ya?" His question broke into her thoughts, her gaze meeting his with mild surprise before she shook her head and relinquished control to him. He was right before, she trusted him enough as an ally to seek him out; she shouldn't question whether he really had her interests in mind while going about his own plans. "Alright, then let's get moving."

The entire base took over the northern half of the island, the town she had been hiding in taking up a small portion of the south western coast. With the more treacherous terrain near the actual prison, and needing easy access for Penguin's crew to sneak inland to the research facility, they had decided to hide their ship at the northwest coast, leaving behind two men to guard it. Once Penguin's team was finished with their task, they would head back to the ship first and the crew would circle around to hide out at the base of the cliff so Law's team could bail out as soon as they had Bepo and Jean Bart back.

While Penguin's group snuck off through the woods to the south, Law approached the base completely in the open, Nami trying very hard not to let her own nervousness get the best of her. She still had a bad feeling about this plan of his, but she'd faced down enough Marines in the past that she felt she had little to worry about. She was probably just worried because of how easily the Marines had taken apart her crew before; that had to be it. In a matter of seconds, though, she had no time to let her anxiety nag her as they immediately found themselves surrounded, something that had Law smiling wickedly.

Nami didn't waste a second at that point, knowing her role and quickly filling it as she launched a weather egg and quickly sent lightning raining down on the soldiers, leaving an opening for Law and his crew to barrel through, heading straight for the prison entrance on the opposite side of a large courtyard. Nami followed, joining in the fight as her attack did just as Law had hoped: drew the other Marines in to their location. They were lucky it seemed to be mostly lower ranks, easily taken out between Law's powers and her wide-spread weather attacks, so it didn't take long for them to break through the entrance into the smaller prison.

Unfortunately that was where a Vice Admiral appeared to be waiting, the very same Vice Admiral who had been waiting for her after she was separated from her crew.

They were all frozen in the main room then, Nami most of all as she stood with her staff in front of her, hands tightening around it until they were white. It seemed like endless minutes that they stood there, waiting for someone to make a move, when finally his eyes landed on her. Hard and angry, her escape still fresh in his mind, and now to see her with a crew lead by none other than Trafalgar Law only made it worse, made him see just what kind of ties she had.

"Nami-ya!" Law's voice snaps her out of whatever daze she had been in, her eyes immediately going to him to watch as he began to form his 'Room' in the palm of his hand. He wasn't looking at her, his entire attention on the man he knew he would have to fight, while he cocked his head to his right to signal she head down a hallway and further into the prison.

The Vice Admiral growled as she took off, not hesitating to follow Law's orders then. "Oh no, you're not getting away from me this time." He called out before using Soru to get right behind her, his hand coming down to prepare and strike her open back, only to find an annoyed captain standing in his way, sword drawn and angling down on his head. Nami glanced back to see the Marine quickly jump away from Law's strike, his focus now on the more lethal opponent protecting her and the few of his crew heading toward the cells.

The guards further in weren't as much of a challenge, Shachi easily dispatching any that got close while she cleared a path with her gust sword. She managed to swipe a set of keys from one of the guards that the Heart crew had taken out before they reached the end where a set of stairs lead down into the cliff. Just as they began their descent, though, a large crash behind them had Nami looking back once more to see Law go flying into a brick wall, the captain panting heavily as he prepared to stand back up only to be struck down immediately by a single Haki-clad punch from the Vice Admiral.

Her eyes went wide seeing just what kind of speed the man had, her steps faltering on the stairs as she saw his gaze swing over to her. She didn't even see him move before he was right in front of her again, his hand enclosing around her arm to hold her back from the rest of Law's crew. As the men called out, Shachi jumped back from where he had been leading them down the stairs to try and help her.

She didn't need his help, though, at least not then. She screamed at his tight grip before she swung her staff around and pointed a baton at his face, a heat egg releasing immediately that sent him stumbling back after letting her go to holler in pain and grab his heavily burned face. The moment she was free she felt Shachi's hand grabbing hold of her and pulling her to follow him again, keeping her close this time even as they heard Law go back on the offensive, blocking the Vice Admiral from charging after her.

As soon as they made it down the flight of stairs, they found themselves in a large, round room that appeared to be cut into the cliff overlooking the sea. A wall to one side filled with windows open to the elements, the sound of the ocean churning against the rocks below clearly heard echoing through the dungeon like room. It only took them a moment to spot the two crew members they were looking for, the pair chained up in a single large cell, looking tired but no worse for wear. She imagined they hardly put up a fight when taken, just to keep from injury so they could fight once set free again. The faith they had in their captain to come back for them was remarkable, but they were invaluable to him and Law truly did seem to care about his men, if he didn't then Luffy and the rest of the Straw Hats wouldn't have come to appreciate his alliance so much.

"Nami!?" Bepo shouted out in surprise the moment he saw her, the large bear trying to pick himself up before his chains tugged him back to the ground. "What are-"

"We'll explain later, Bepo, but first we have to get out of here." Shachi interrupted as he rushed to the cell with Nami, the two other crew members with them going to stand guard for them.

Just as they got into the cell and were unchaining the other pirates, they were surprised as Law came rushing down the stairs, beat up and bleeding, but there was no Vice Admiral or other marine in sight. "Hurry! We don't have much time." He called out as he activated his Room once more, unsheathing his sword and aiming it at the wall facing the coast, immediately slicing it apart and sending the loose rocks flying to the stairwell to block the path. As he went to the edge to look down at the sea below, Nami and Shachi finished releasing the pair, the entire group immediately heading to stand with Law to see if their getaway had arrived. They were in luck as they saw the yellow submarine coming into view, not too far away, but considering how much time they probably had, they were going to have to jump into the ocean and swim for it. Something rather troublesome with a devil fruit user among them.

The sound of the rock barrier blasting away drew their attention back to the door, Law immediately jumping to action as the Vice Admiral came flying at them, his Haki clad arm blocked by his nodachi. "Tsh," Law hissed before shoving the man away again, holding one hand out toward the opening while he kept his steady gaze on his opponent. "Be ready!"

His only warning was immediately followed by one of the crew vanishing into thin air, only to be replaced by a large boulder that Law sent flying toward the marine as he sprinted toward them again. Nami glanced down the sheer cliff to see the pirate down at the very base, just barely clinging to the sheer face above where the tide lapped at the rocks. Her eyes widened as she realized what Law was doing, getting them away while using their bodies to switch with the boulders to use as weapons. She turned back to the fight in time to see Shachi and Jean Bart vanish next, two more stones appearing to block the enraged marine's path as he used Soru to dodge and push off toward them again. Next Bepo and the other member in their team were gone, two more rocks in their place.

The Vice Admiral was getting angrier by the second with Law's stalling, while Law himself was panting harder and harder, obviously becoming exhausted from using his powers so much against such a fast opponent. A quick glance down, though, and Nami spotted the sub where the other crew members were clinging to the cliff, Penguin's group quickly helping them aboard.

When she turned back to the fight, she noticed Law was closer to her and after he sent a few more stones at the marine to block him, he grabbed hold of her arm and appeared to be preparing for their own escape.

Out of nowhere she saw a hard palm flying straight into Law's face, the captain's grip loosening on her arm while another arm, the Vice Admiral's, wrapped tight around her neck and pulled her back from her ally. She could only watch as Law went flying out the opening, coughing up blood from the punch.

"Law!" She cried out, struggling in the marine's grip as she tried to twist herself free and use her Climatact to burn him again. He was ready this time, though, as she felt a sharp hit to her wrist, forcing her to drop her weapon and cry out in pain as she swore she felt a bone shatter from the impact.

In that time Law managed to get his bearings again, switching places with one of the stones that went falling down to the ocean in his place. Even as she continued to fight for her freedom, she could see it in Law's face and expression; he was exhausted, and running out of options. As he stood there, staring hard at the man holding her, his lips set in a sneer, they listened as more marines came charging down the stairs into the room, their guns immediately training on Law as they saw their opportunity.

"Surrender Trafalgar Law!" The officer called out to him, pulling Nami back further with his tight grip as she watched in shock as Law only stood straight and turned his back on the man in answer, going to the very edge of the opening to look down.

"Tact!" He called out; his hand outstretched in front of him as he raised his finger. In an instant his ship came into view, lifting from the water to hover in the air not far from the cliff face. Nami's eyes were wide as she watched him glance back, meeting her gaze for only a second before leaping out the opening for his ship. His expression was mostly stoic, but she caught a flash of something for a moment. Concern? She wasn't sure, but it actually had her scared as she once again began to struggle in her captor's arms.

"Law! Law!" She cried out over and over again, even as his ship descended back into the water below and out of her sight. "LAAWWWW!"

Her screams were cut off as the arm around her throat tightened considerably; choking her to silence her while the other marines swarmed her to clasp her wrists with cuffs. She couldn't fight anymore, now staring dumbfounded out at the ocean.

He had abandoned her.

He had sacrificed her to give him a chance to escape.

He left her there.

But she never noticed the small pile of stones where her Climatact had fallen as she was dragged away to her own prison cell.

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**Ahhh, I hope you all don't hate me with that ending. :3 Actually, it was this chapter and the next chapter that had really inspired me to write this whole fic, so bear with me please, I promise you won't be disappointed with what I have in mind... well, I hope you won't. .**

**I might actually get started on that next chapter right now, too, since I can't seem to sleep, and I'm actually super excited for it. So maybe speedy update for you guys.**

**Oh, and for those wondering when the romance is going to come in, I just wanna kinda clue you in on how I'm pacing this. The story isn't going to be your typical, cliched romance with fluffy feelings and kissy faces. Sorry. I'm trying to do a thing where I keep the romance itself really subtle, reflecting a lot more of how I imagine Oda would go about it if he did interject some romance into his own story. Plus, if you haven't noticed, this time I'm writing almost exclusively from Nami's perspective, so you'll be getting a clearer idea of her feelings as they develop, whereas with Law you'll have to pay attention a little closer to his behavior with Nami in order to get an idea. In fact, I've already started sprinkling that in just a bit here and there, it's in the little things with him. Basically, I'm taking some inspiration from SoBeyondCrazy and how they have been pacing things in their fic "Give Me Back My Heart, No Really, Give It Back" (which I highly recommend if you are into Zombie AUs, and if you're not, maybe give it a try cuz it really is worth it).**

**For those wanting a little something extra, though, I'm kinda tempted to just write a mildly steamy one-shot for them. Completely without plot and context, just our two favorite people enjoying themselves. ;3 Note: it won't be smut.**

**Reviews always welcome!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A little bit of a shorter chapter for you all this time, but it's because I cut it in half since I didn't like the pacing that I had. Good news, though, I'm halfway done with the next chapter, so I should have that done very soon. Also a warning since I'm increasing the rating for this chapter- Nami will be subjected to some minor torture/ abuse in this chapter. For those that read Madness Descends, it is no where near the level I subjected to her in that, but it's still a good portion of this chapter's content. I will designate the start and end of it with (**) if you want to skip it, though.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or the characters, they belong to Eiichiro Oda.**

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_Chapter 9_

_The Silence of Faith_

"Captain!" Shachi called out as everyone followed Law into the hull of their ship, the captain sparing the man a glance to acknowledge him. "What about Nami?"

Law paused in the hallway, frowning as he stared straight ahead for a moment before turning away to head toward the medical room. "Don't worry about her, just hurry up and get to work on creating that weapon." His dismissive answer had the entire crew surprised, everyone wondering just what he had planned while knowing that he couldn't possibly leave the girl behind so callously like that.

* * *

Nami found herself chained up in a solitary cell the second Law's ship was out of sight, the Vice Admiral holding her captive deciding to let her stay and watch her only hope for freedom run away, leaving her behind. Once she was behind bars in another section of the jail, she immediately sank into silence. At first glimpse, she may have looked defeated, but really she was fuming with anger, her mind at work trying to come up with a way to escape.

"There will be no escape this time, Cat-Burglar Nami." The Vice Admiral intoned as if reading her thoughts. He sat in a chair, directly in front of her, but just outside her cage, staring at her with a sickeningly amused smile; or what she assumed passed as one for him- the corners of his lips just barely pulled up on his otherwise stoic face. It was the light in his eyes that betrayed his emotions the most. "He might have been your ally once, but you should know as well as anyone that pirates are not to be trusted."

She sneered at him, but refrained from responding.

"Now then, Miss Nami, I feel sorry for you being betrayed like that," he went on, waving off her stubborn silence before pushing back his sandy-brown hair. "And out of pity, I think we can strike a deal. I can make sure the rest of your life isn't spent in the deepest pits of Impel Down, but only if you tell me everything you know about what Law's plans are."

She almost wanted to laugh at the man's idiotic attempt at negotiations. Even if she knew everything about Law's intentions, she was intelligent enough to know that she'd still end up in Impel Down if she shared that kind of information. The World Government had a zero tolerance policy on piracy now, even the Shichibukai was kept on a tighter leash, turning them even more into government dogs; if they didn't comply, though, they were immediately imprisoned until they agreed to once more work for them. Deals with pirates didn't happen anymore, not with Sakazuki's reign. At the very least she could expect to only be imprisoned in the first level of Impel Down, still not a cushy deal to make for herself.

She answered him with silence.

"Suit yourself, Miss Nami," he sighed, picking himself up from his chair and walking toward the door. "I'll leave a few of my men to try and persuade you to divulge what you know."

As his back disappeared behind the door, Nami turned her attention to two men laughing cruelly in the shadows as they approached. In the hands of one man hung a long whip, while the other carried over a large bucket of water, and she knew that it was merely the beginning of their torture.

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**(**)**

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She couldn't keep track of time in her small, dungeon-like cell. Every strike of the leather whip into her skin felt like an eternity had passed as she waited for the burning welt to numb. Each time they soaked her with ice cold water, she felt like it took longer and longer for her to catch her breath, for her limbs to warm once more. When they'd finally stop, give up and let her sit alone in silence, to be trapped with her thoughts, wondering if Law had truly abandoned her for good, she'd be lucky to get what felt like even a few minutes of rest.

She'd endured a hard life before. She'd been alone before. She'd dealt with abuse and neglect from her childhood. She knew she could withstand whatever they threw at her.

With each day that passed, Nami withstood their abuse; her body covered in lashes, her wrist bruised and swollen from when the Vice Admiral had struck her in the fight, soaking wet and freezing cold, and weakened from malnourishment- though the last was of her own doing- and yet she still hardly spoke to her Marine captors. Thus far they had been rather tame, apparently willing to take their sweet time, probably hoping that the longer she sat there with no prospect of rescue, the more she'd break and give in.

"Miss Nami, we already know that Law is intending to weaponize the herb you helped him steal," the Vice Admiral said as he once again questioned her. "So it's useless to hold your tongue with us. Thus far I have held my men back, been as humane as I can be, but if you continue your stubborn refusal than you will leave me no choice but to send you to Impel Down where you will beg to be back in my care."

While her more logical side told her that she couldn't count on Law to come back for her, that he was a man known to be cruel, a larger part of her still held on to some semblance of faith that he wouldn't just leave her like this. She might not be a member of his crew, he might not hold her at the same regard he does the men in his care, nor respect her at the level he respects her own captain, but she had been an ally, she was an important person in seeing out his plans, at least in some way she was. He wouldn't let her just rot there.

At least that was what she continuously told herself.

If he did come back for her, though, she was still going to give him an earful for abandoning her in the first place.

"Alright, I'll give you a little more time with your new friends," he said after her continued silence, picking himself up from his chair to turn and leave the room. Her two guards were already chuckling, she could hear the crack of the whip one used, along with the sound of metal scrapping the rocky floor, drawing her attention to the sword held in the other's hand as he lazily dragged it along the stone. They were going to try something new today.

"Wait," she spoke up, her gaze slowly going back to the Vice Admiral, steady yet nervous as she watched him turn back and hum an acknowledgment to her. "I have a question first."

"Go on."

"I saw Bepo and Jean Bart; they were in mostly perfect health, no signs of abuse. Why are you doing this to me, yet you didn't do the same to members of Law's own crew?" Her question drew a chuckle from him as he turned to face her fully before answering.

"I told you before that pirates are not to be trusted. They are only loyal to their own crews, their own captains. You saw that for yourself when Law left you here in favor of getting his men to safety. So I know that no amount of torture would have gotten those men to betray their own captain." He explained, slowly walking closer to her cell with each word until he was standing right in front of the bars. "But you, you are not expected to show him even an ounce of loyalty. The only person you should be concerned with is yourself; it makes perfect sense to question you like this because you are the easiest one to break. Really, I got lucky, and I know I should take advantage of it; plus, your escape tarnished my name, and that makes me a little vindictive."

Nami smiled sarcastically at his last remark, a tiny sneer pulling up her lip as he turned and walked out of the room. The crack of a whip had her eyes snapping back to the guards as they opened the door to her cell, their eyes alight with even more malevolence than previous visits.

It started out normally enough, a whip striking out to lash at her exposed arms and torso, a glancing blow to her cheek. Still she didn't talk, and the men didn't seem surprised by that, worse they seemed delighted by it.

"Such a stubborn wench," the one with the sword chuckled, raising his weapon until it pressed against her sternum. "Can't last forever, though. Eh?"

His partner just laughed, standing back to watch in amusement as the sharp blade was dragged lazily across her skin, the edge just barely drawing blood. She clenched her teeth, trying to resist groaning at the sting while she glared hard at her capture. What he did next, though, had her eyes wide with surprise, panic finally beginning to well up inside her as she realized just how they intended to torture her this time.

"Vice Admiral said he'd been holding us back, doesn't sound like he plans to restrain us any longer." He went on as his sword dipped under the string to her bikini, just at her collar bone. He teased and toyed with it, not yet cutting it, but making sure his intentions to do so were clear, while his blade turned to cut a little deeper into her flesh beneath.

That was when she began struggling, much to their sadistic delight, but still she didn't speak, stubbornly refusing to give away the tiny amount of knowledge she had. Chances were they wouldn't even take it as everything she knew, assuming she was still holding out on them, so it didn't matter to her anyway.

They began to laugh as he slowly put more tension on the string of her top, the fabric beginning to fray at a torturing pace while she leaned forward to try and slow it, take away the tension, and maybe save her dignity. She was saved by the sound of the door slamming open, another guard coming in and shouting at her tormentors.

"Oi! You pigs! That's too far!" He called to the men who immediately stood straight, coming to attention for someone who was apparently a higher rank than them. The sword was slowly withdrawn from her clothing, a sigh of relief escaping her as she relaxed against the wall at her back. The other guard came into the cell, glaring hard at the two men, before tossing down a bowl with a few meager scraps of meat and rice, not even looking at her as he turned around and gestured for the others to follow him out. "You're marines, not animals, so save it for when you have the Vice Admiral's permission."

His last comment had her breath catching in her throat, eyes wide as she looked down at her meal. So this was all just a warning. Show her that they were holding back, that they were savage enough to treat her like piece of meat if she didn't give them the information they wanted.

Her terror and panic was renewed.

Her doubts that Law would come back for her once more at the forefront of her mind.

She shut her eyes, trying to breathe, as anxious tears stung while silently sliding down her bruised and torn up cheek.

Still she wanted nothing more than to trust him.

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**(**)**

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The sound of his shoes echoed around him as he walked over the wood planks. His sword rested on his shoulder, relaxed and calm as he surveyed the small pirate ship.

As the smoke cleared, his eyes made out the still bodies, victims who didn't stand a chance, never expecting the unprovoked attack. They were lucky that they would be escaping with their lives, though.

He stopped to stoop down over the ship's captain, his ears picking up the sounds of ragged, struggled breaths while he reached out to press his fingers to the man's neck. His pulse was weak, but steady enough that he would recover.

"Captain! Everyone below deck is knocked out, too!" Penguin's report shouted from the trap door leading down into the hull of the ship earned a satisfied nod from him, his tall frame straightening out so he could sweep his gaze over the whole of the ship one last time.

"Alright, go ahead and raid the ship. Food, clothes, whatever supplies and money you can find." Law gave his orders as he returned back to his waiting submarine, his men jumping into action behind him. "I'd say we're ready to put this stuff to a real test."

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**Thanks for the reviews so far! You're all amazing, keep 'em coming.**

**Next chapter coming soon, and probably another one-shot to add to 'Running Out of Bounds,' mainly cuz I feel bad about torturing Nami so much, so I feel like reversing it for a change. :3**


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